- ELMA -

Monday, September 9th

I was a little sad to leave Port Townsend and the air and water, and ship and boat activities, and all the lovely little shops, and two story homes with porches, and such.  I had gone to sleep the night before I departed. to stars and woke to rain.  I got a little wet while I was unhooking my motor home though nothing drastic.  As one can see, I am still here and none the worse for ware.

I drove to Elma as it rained off and on and when I arrived it was clear weather and partial sun.  I got everything set up and hooked up and checked out the park and then it began to thunder and rain.  The storm went into the late night as I went to sleep.  It reminded me of where I grew up in Ohio and the thunder and lightening storms I enjoyed during the summer.  I missed these storms greatly when we moved to California.  

The next morning it was foggy which cleared away by mid morning.  It was sunny and humid.  This was also something I grew up with in Ohio.  The humid part is anything other than missed.  My last visit to Virginia to see my brother and his family was humid.  I had forgotten how it felt and quickly realized I do much better in a drier climate.

The past few days have been the same fog in the morning  and then clearing to sunny skies, less humidity and with a slight breeze by mid morning.  I love watching as the trees that are still holding on to their green leaves sway so I can hear their rustling sounds.  This area reminds me of Ohio.

  Some of the homes here are similar to the homes in the area where I grew up.  Two story homes with porches.  Even now, these are the types of homes I prefer.  To me there is a wonderful charm about them.  It was quite a shock to see all of the single story homes in California.  I felt a huge cultural shock when me moved.  Literally everything was different, and at fourteen, it was strange.

It is rather nice to find, in my travels, that there are areas that are similar to my early childhood experiences.  I doubt I would want to return to Ohio to live, though it is nice to be reminded of childhood memories that were wonderful.  This sort of brings up the issue of where I may settle.  It is definitely an unknown at this time.  I am certain that when it is time, the place will present itself.  Meanwhile, I am enjoying the Adventure completely.

Elma has a population of around 3,100 and is between Olympia and Aberdeen.  They are lacking a specialty bakery and candy/ice cream shops though they do have a hospital.  Of course, this does nothing for my sweet tooth!  There are quite a few vacant stores and it feels rather depressed. There seem to be few people out and walking.  This does not seem to be a tourist stop as there are no shops with the usual t-shirts and nick-knacks for the area.  

I have heard good things about a local restaurant, the Rusty Tractor, with its home cooking and plenty to eat.  This is close to where I am staying and, if I get hungry and am low on food, it is apparently the place to go.  I am sure I will check it out sometime while I am here.

 I have been checking into camp hosting for the National Parks and may have found a few that interest me.  Private and State parks offer the same opportunities, so I am looking into all of my options.  I have talked with several people who are hosting and they truly seem to like what they are doing.  I have also discovered there are many more folks out there RV'ing full time than I ever imagined.  Most of them are friendly and offer to help.  Some I am keeping in contact with through email.

It is strange to realize that I started my actual Adventure a year ago October.  Where has the time gone?  It feels as though I just drove away from Auburn a few weeks ago.  Then I remember all of the wonderful experiences I have had and the places I have been and the people I have met along the way and it seems that I must have been gone longer.  Oh, the riddles of life.  Gotta love it!  

To all those celebrating today,

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Heather!

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

Happy Birthday, Gaytrell!

Happy Birthday, Julie!

Happy Birthday, Bunny!

"What lies behind us

and what lies ahead of us

are tiny matters compared to

what lives within us."

- Henry David Thoreau

Enjoy within you!